Why Cooking At Home Is Beneficial For The Environment

As most of you AlessiaAdora readers know, we believe in fighting climate change and protecting our planet at all costs. We do this through living a sustainable lifestyle and being environmentally friendly whenever we can.

One of the many things our family does to help create a safer and healthier planet is cook a majority of our meals at home. I have discovered that not only does it bring our family closer together, but it also has many environmentally-friendly benefits.

There are several reasons why cooking at home is better for the environment, and we are going to go over those today.

Minimal To Zero Waste

First and foremost, cooking meals at home produces less waste in more ways than one. For one example, it cuts down on single-use items.

Depending on your location and state or country regulations, many restaurants still use many single-use items for serving. Some of those items include plastic straws, napkins, plates, take-home containers, and utensils. And that doesn't include many of the single-use sanitary items cooks and wait staff have to use in the kitchen. Plastic gloves are quite the commodity in commercial kitchens.

Another example is the amount of food waste restaurants are known to produce.

One report states that on average a half of a pound of food is wasted per meal. It can happen one of two ways, through food that is left uneaten on a customer's plate or in the kitchen itself. Even the unserved food in the kitchen is thrown out by the end of the night. The report states that this totals out to approximately 85% of wasted food.

When you cook your meals from home, you can avoid both of these issues.

By buying and using only what you need for cooking your meal, you can avoid food waste. And since you're eating right in your home, there's no need to use any of the previously mentioned single-use products.

It's like saving two birds with one less outing.

Less Energy

According to David Pimental, a professor at Cornell University, cooking at home takes less energy.

He states that seven kilocalories of energy are used to produce food and that the further processing, packaging, and transporting takes another ten.

And as most of us know, many restaurants do not use fresh ingredients. That means even more energy is used to produce the food because many of their ingredients are frozen.

When you cook at home, you can opt to purchase fresh, locally grown produce and meats. You can also buy things like rice, beans, and other dry items in zero-waste bulk form from select retailers.

All you have to do is take your favorite glass containers along and fill up on all of your favorites. It can save money too.

Enjoy The Art Of Home Cooking

Cooking isn't only a useful life skill; it's also an art form that brings friends and families together everywhere.

Show your loved one and the environment how much you care by cooking at home today.